Man Stops Eating Food: Could You Do It Too?

Ugh, food. Do you ever just get sick of eating? Having to cook or buy food, chew and swallow it, and then clean up afterward? (No? Me neither. But humor me here.) A man named Rob Rhinehart wanted to get rid of the tedious task of eating food. So he created his own "Soylent," a nutrient drink that gives his body everything it needs. He wrote about the experiment in a post called, "How I Stopped Eating Food: Mostly."

People, he freakin' loves the stuff. "I haven't eaten a bite in 30 days, and it's changed my life," he writes. And he means that in a good way. Would YOU ever want to try this out?

So aside from olive oil and table salt, Rob doesn't keep any food in his home. Just his Soylent mix: "I researched every substance the body needs to survive, plus a few extras shown to be beneficial, and purchased all of them in nearly raw chemical form from a variety of sources." Mmm, raw chemicals, my favorite.

Rob claims his chemical smoothie is delicious. I'm beginning to suspect he never liked food to begin with. But let's get into how AWESOME this stuff made him feel. It took about a week of tinkering to get the ingredients and proportions right. He kept track of his vitals and did blood tests to make sure he was really healthy.

He feels full.

He feels energized.

His skin looks clearer and smoother.

Advertisements for fast food look repulsive.

He feels like "the six million dollar man."

His hair seems thicker .

His teeth look whiter.

His dandruff went away.

He can run father.

He can think faster.

Okay, well, that's pretty compelling. But he hasn't told us about his poo or his sex life. What about that, huh?

So I can see how some parents might love this -- it would save us so much time if only we could get the kids to slurp down Soylent shakes instead of real food. But something tells me most kids would outright reject the stuff.

I'm not convinced. Life for me is about so much more than efficiency and white teeth. I love eating -- and cooking -- to ever give them up. Giving up food would be like giving up all the magic and poetry in life. I would never want to do this, no matter how six-million-dollar it makes me feel, physically.

Would you ever try living on Soylent? How long do you think you would you last?